Sourdough Discard Pancakes & Some Sourdough Facts

This year my eldest daughter started gan moetza, which means I had to start sending her a sandwich every day for aruchat eser. We were never big bread eaters, and didn’t really want to get my kid who was uninterested in bread too interested in it. So figured I’d expose her to sourdough before she discovered what white bread was. Thank goodness for that because she’s obsessed. She doesn’t even care for regular bread when offered to her.

We were buying sourdough from my favorite bakery every 2 weeks just to stock up on our sourdough stash. But it really was getting pricey. So decided I’d jump on the sourdough trend. I am studying to be a nutritionist afterall.

But what’s with all the hype? Is sourdough really that much better?

Here’s some facts about sourdough you might not have known:

Sourdough Facts

• It is much more nutrient dense in micronutrients such as potassium, folate and magnesium. This is because the lactic acid buildup destroy some of the other acidic components commonly found in other bread. Without the presence of the conventional acid, these nutrients become much more available.
• A wonderful source of prebiotic. NOT probiotics, but PREbiotics. This is the fiber that feeds the good bacteria living in our guts. We have an entire ecological system of microorganisms growing in our guts. These good bacteria need to be nourished just as much as we do. Fiber is the best source for godo bacteria to feed off of. And sourdough is said to really fuel these good bugs we’ve got in our systems. This by definition also makes sourdough more easily digestible. So if you get digestive distress going on after you eat bread, you may be ok eating a pure sourdough.
• The lactic acid in the sourdough also sources a lot of antioxidants. Can’t be mad about getting more antioxidants by eating bread, can you?

Those are just some facts of many. But anectodly I will say that I was expecting my kid to be sick every other week when she started gan. Can’t pin this all on the sourdough but i really believe it is contributing to her health. She is getting a great source of prebiotics and getting a punch of nutrient richness daily. And a healthy gut is very well linked to a strong immune system. So I’ll be over here thanking the sourdough ever so slightly for her astonishing health this gan season.

What is “Discard”?

Sounds weird, I know. Part of ht sourdough process is feeding the starter every so often. But before feeding it, you need to make room for it to grow in size. The part you throw out to make room for growth is called the “discard.” The discard still has lactic acid buildup and the same benefits found in the sourdough. NEVER worth discarding! So much can be done with it!

That’s where this recipe came in. Really wanted to make my family a special lunch today. This third lockdown; been hard on everyone. So I decided to make these pancakes as an experiment. I was feeding my starter and needed something to do with the discard. The result was better than I ever expected. So fluffy! Seriously a must try!

So if you’ve got a starter on hand, definitely give these a try! NEVER DISCARD! Trust me, you’re world will be changed.

xoxo